Is the U.S. a patsy? The premise of ‘America First’ is bizarre.

Talking to participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, I found the reaction to Donald Trump’s second term more varied and less panicked than it was for his first term. Most are anxious, but leaders from many countries think they can make deals with him. Others believe his bark is worse than his bite.

All the people I spoke with, however, are puzzled by one core aspect of Trump’s worldview: that the United States is a patsy. “We will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer,” Trump declared in his inaugural address. Newly minted Secretary of State Marco Rubio, doing his best to imitate Trump in his confirmation hearings, complained that the United States has in recent decades too often prioritized “the global order” over its national interests.

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